Monday Musette – Weekend Wrap-Up & the Art of the Sack

This past week saw the first racing of the season with the Tour de San Luis and the Tour Down Under crowning their 2011 champions on Sunday.

1. In Argentina, the week looked as if it were on track to be dominated by Androni Giocatolli and Movistar with Androni’s Roberto Ferrari and Jose Serpa taking Stages 1, 3 and 2 and Movistar’s Xavier Tondo staking his claim on the GC with a win in the ITT on Stage 4. Unfortunately, in what is becoming a somewhat disturbing trend for Spanish riders of late, Tondo crashed in Stage 6 while wearing the leader’s jersey, losing 15 minutes and the overall lead to the unknown Chilean, Marco Arriagada.

2. In Australia at the Tour Down Under, Matthew Goss won the first stage and appeared as if he were on his way to making me look good—but a funny thing happened on the way to Adelaide as first Robbie McEwen and then Cameron Meyer stole the leader’s jersey from the Australian’s shoulders—Meyer for good, as his breakaway win on Stage 4 gave him enough of a cushion to give Garmin it’s first big win of the season.

While Goss fulfilled our pre-race expectations, his teammate Mark Cavendish and defending champion Andre Greipel did little to live up to the hype surrounding their first race as official opponents. Cavendish crashed heavily at the end of a chaotic Stage 2 and Greipel went home winless from a race he’s owned in the past.

As for Meyer his win was especially impressive as he was one of several riders to hit the deck at the end of the Stage 2. His gutsy ride—no doubt boosted by the presence of teammate Matt Wilson in the break—seems to confirm the promise he’s displayed in the past.

But in my opinion, the most impressive performance of the race goes to Michael Matthews the reigning U23 World Champion and current Rabobank neo-pro. The rookie easily defeated Goss and Greipel in a head-to-head uphill sprint to win Stage 3. At only 20-years-old Matthews is certainly young, but as Peter Sagan showed last year with an auspicious Australian debut, talent doesn’t seem to care how old you are. (Hey Rabobank: give the kid some rainbow stripes for his jersey–after all, he earned them.)

3. Unexpectedly, the biggest news from the Tour Down Under came not from the peloton but from the caravan when it was announced that Garmin-Cervelo DS Matt White had been fired for sending former rider Trent Lowe to a Spanish doctor with a shadowy reputation. Why Vaughters waited until now to make the announcement is unknown at this time, but one wonders if a recent string of emails from Floyd Landis prompted the move—or if Matt White’s rumored involvement with the new GreenEdge project had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, Vaughters can continue to say he runs the cleanest ship in the business (despite the skeletons in his own closet). As for Matt White’s replacement, Vaughters will step behind the wheel temporarily (which if the rumors are true means bad news for every other car in the race). I’m waiting for confirmation that he’s available, but I’d hire Hendrik Redant in a second if I were JV. I’m available too if Vaughters wants someone cheap.

4. Speaking of choices, give the ASO credit for picking the right teams for the 2011 editions of Paris-Nice and the Tour de France. Saur-Sojasun deserves the call-up to July, while Bretagne-Schuller gets a week in March to show what it can do. The Tour de France is a French race—it needs French teams to maintain its character. And with French riders winning six stages in last year’s edition—more than any other country—it’s hard to make a case against more of them being invited. As for Geox-TMC, it’s hard to say you deserve an invitation when you have no kit and only one team bike.

5. And last but not least, in case you missed it, last week’s issue of Sports Illustrated caused quite a stir, with both the Steelers and Packers being picked by SI’s “experts” to advance to the Super Bowl. I mean seriously! Who in their right mind would pick a second-year quarterback from USC to find success against Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 defense at Heinz Field? And Rodgers over Culter? Duh. Even my 3-year-old niece got that one right. The next time you want to publish something provocative SI, tell us something we don’t already know. Geez.

6. A quick word to everyone waiting for us to release our 2011 kit—we haven’t forgotten about you! We’ve had some last-minute supporters jump on board and we’re finalizing the design as we speak. I promise this will happen—we’re not Geox for crying out loud.

That’s it for this week’s Monday Musette.

Share your comments below.

About Whit

My experiences might easily fit many cycling fans' definitions of “living the dream.” Since getting hooked on the sport watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship, I've raced as an amateur on Belgian cobbles, traveled Europe to help build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux. As a former assistant director sportif with Mercury-Viatel, I've also seen the less dreamy side of the sport – the side rife with broken contracts, infighting, and positive dope tests. These days, I live with my lovely wife in Pennsylvania and share my experiences and views on the sport at Bicycling Magazine, the Embrocation Cycling Journal, and at my own site, Pavé.

3 Responses to Monday Musette – Weekend Wrap-Up & the Art of the Sack

Methinks the timing of the White sacking has less to do with external factors as it does with waiting on the Executive Board to make a decision. When was the last time an entity like that made a decision quickly?

Matthews was also mixing it up on Stage 6, which was full of intermediate sprints for time bonuses. Had he not nipped Goss in one sprint, Goss and Meyer would have been tied for time in the GC, and Goss would have won it due to his better finish on that final stage.

I can't help but wonder if Greipel's mediocrity this past week is a good sign – a sign that he's starting off nice and slow and will build to a much more competitive level later in the season.

Great article, thanks for the synopsis of those early races, I missed them this year. And as for "Sports" Illustrated, I say read it in the store if you love cycling, and don't EVER buy that rag. They have always had a thing against cycling, and never miss a chance to discredit the sport I love. SI's idea of "sport" is an overweight slob watching overpaid cretins on TV as he clutches his beer!